ABSTRACT
Clinical mental health researchers may understandably struggle with how to incorporate biological assessments in clinical research. The options are numerous and are described in a vast and complex body of literature. Here we provide guidelines to assist mental health researchers seeking to include biological measures in their studies. Apart from a focus on behavioral outcomes as measured via interviews or questionnaires, we advocate for a focus on biological pathways in clinical trials and epidemiological studies that may help clarify pathophysiology and mechanisms of action, delineate biological subgroups of participants, mediate treatment effects, and inform personalized treatment strategies. With this paper we aim to bridge the gap between clinical and biological mental health research by (1) discussing the clinical relevance, measurement reliability, and feasibility of relevant peripheral biomarkers; (2) addressing five types of biological tissues, namely blood, saliva, urine, stool and hair; and (3) providing information on how to control sources of measurement variability.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers , Mental Health , Humans , Biomarkers/metabolism , Mental Disorders/metabolism , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Research Personnel , Saliva/chemistry , Saliva/metabolismABSTRACT
This study examined the association between the COMT Val(158) Met genotype and depression symptoms. A total of 326 Chinese adults who experienced the deadly 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and lost children during the disaster participated in this study. Depression symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was successfully genotyped using the MassARRAY system. Results indicated that although the Val(158) Met genotype was not associated with total depression symptoms, it was significantly correlated with decreased positive affect symptoms of depression in males. The findings indicated that COMT may play an important functional role in the development of depression, and contribute to the extant knowledge of the genetic basis and sex-specific expression of symptoms in depression.